2023 CX-50 Meridian Turbo Cylinder Head Replacement...Thoughts?

[MeridianLuv]

Hi - Bought the 2023 CX-50 Meridian Turbo in April 2023. First-time Mazda owner. LOVE this vehicle! Body, handling, interior are awesome and 0% financing sold me!! Obviously I love it alot as I have 25K miles on it (mostly highway miles). Had an engine malfunction notice on my dash on June 29th and immediately (same day, without even turning engine off) drove it over to my Mazda dealership who has an amazing service manager. I've had all the maintenance performed there, and like I said they are super to deal with for scheduling, promptness, even good coffee in waiting area. That day they immediately gave me a loaner so I could be on my way (again, very helpful although IMO this CX-50 isn't as nice as my Meridian). A week later I called for an update and was told the cylinder head needed to be replaced. We've waited a month for the part to come in and now I'm in queue behind another Mazda having its cylinder head replaced. Seems like a significant time-consuming job for labor, and grateful it's under warranty.

While this work is under warranty, I'm wondering if others are seeing this repair in a 2023 CX-50 turbo?

Also, once it's repaired is there likelihood it will occur again? I have all regularly scheduled maintenance done at this dealer. I've never experienced this type of repair (previously owned Nissan, Subaru, Toyota) and kept them for 100K+ miles each. I realize no one has a crystal ball, but once this repair is made should I keep this car or better to trade-in before another major engine repair? Really appreciate other's opinions. Thanks!

 

[Silly Wabbit]

After larking on this forum for many years, I think once you overcome the ticking time bomb of the cracked head, you should be good. I don't think there are many issues raised by other members other than the engine failure.

 

[youri]

This is the first i hear of a CX-50 with a cylinder head replacement. But that fleet of vehicles is relatively young (not a lot of CX-50 with high mileage yet)

I am not sure if the cracked head issue is a thing on the CX-50. I was hoping that since it has a different turbo system than the other mazda 2.5L Turbo that they would have addressed the issue of the turbo mounting point putting stress on the cylinder head and cracking it.

 

[MeridianLuv]

I really miss the turbo compared to the CX-50 loaner I'm using now. If the issue behind the cracked cylinder head is the turbo mounting point, would this likely recur after the repair? I plan to ask the service manager. Did it recur post-repair for the other mazda turbos from a few years ago?

 

[sm1ke]

I really miss the turbo compared to the CX-50 loaner I'm using now. If the issue behind the cracked cylinder head is the turbo mounting point, would this likely recur after the repair? I plan to ask the service manager. Did it recur post-repair for the other mazda turbos from a few years ago?

As far as I know, it hasn't been an issue for 21+ turbo models and those who have had their 2.5T cylinder heads replaced with the new ones. It's possible that this particular event is a one off occurrence. On the older models, the cylinder head on a turbo engine would crack where the exhaust manifold meets the head, and the crack was caused by forces on the exhaust system, not extra weight from the turbo.

@youri, are newer models with the twin-scroll turbo designs now having issues? I haven't noticed any reports besides this one.

 

[youri]

I have not been tracking it closely, but it is the first I see on this forum.

I also have not seen anyone with a head that cracked twice, but this might just be coincidence. But as Sm1ke said, the head was redesigned in 2021 on CX-9 and CX-5 to prevent the issue. And the CX-50 use a completely different turbo than those two so it might not even be an issue on the CX-50

 

[jfrogger]

People talk about redesign of the head, but nobody has shared any knowledge about what the redesign was. I want to know what was done, because I don't trust the Mazda engineers did it right until I see what they did. The old head looks very lean in material, like they were trying to save a few grams of aluminum, when they should have made it more stout on the backside to begin with. Does anyone have photos, or detailed diagram of the new vs. old head?

 

[sm1ke]

People talk about redesign of the head, but nobody has shared any knowledge about what the redesign was. I want to know what was done, because I don't trust the Mazda engineers did it right until I see what they did. The old head looks very lean in material, like they were trying to save a few grams of aluminum, when they should have made it more stout on the backside to begin with. Does anyone have photos, or detailed diagram of the new vs. old head?

How would just looking at pictures of the head indicate that the problem is fixed? More material is not always better.. additionally, even if you could find a detailed diagram, it wouldn't show enough detail to see any internal design changes or even changes in thickness at any given part. For information like that, you'd need to work for Mazda's engineering or R&D dept.

From 2016 to 2020, there have been some reports of cylinder heads cracking on the affected engine. We know that Mazda redesigned the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold gasket in 2020. Then from 2021 to 2023, there were no reports of cylinder heads that cracked in the same way. That would indicate to me that the issue has been resolved as a result of the redesigned parts.

 

[jfrogger]

You're obviously more trusting and optimistic than me. Either way, after learning that the turbo is inaccessible without dropping or pulling the motor I decided it's not worth the trouble with a cx9. The wastegate is electrically actuated, so when that fails you can't just replace the part without major work. Horrible design. NA cx5 pre 2019 is the top of my list now.

 

[jfrogger]

How would just looking at pictures of the head indicate that the problem is fixed? More material is not always better.. additionally, even if you could find a detailed diagram, it wouldn't show enough detail to see any internal design changes or even changes in thickness at any given part. For information like that, you'd need to work for Mazda's engineering or R&D dept.

From 2016 to 2020, there have been some reports of cylinder heads cracking on the affected engine. We know that Mazda redesigned the cylinder head and the exhaust manifold gasket in 2020. Then from 2021 to 2023, there were no reports of cylinder heads that cracked in the same way. That would indicate to me that the issue has been resolved as a result of the redesigned parts.

To clarify, what I would hope photos would show is some added external ribbing around the failure points, and possible elimination of the relief (sunken in areas to save material cost) points around the exhaust stud/bolt holes where cracking was occuring. It's too bad Mazda couldn't have added more support for the turbo like would be done in a pro mod car with large heavy turbos. Some brackets or something to connect the turbo to some other points in the motor, maybe?

 

[N7turbo]

You're obviously more trusting and optimistic than me. Either way, after learning that the turbo is inaccessible without dropping or pulling the motor I decided it's not worth the trouble with a cx9. The wastegate is electrically actuated, so when that fails you can't just replace the part without major work. Horrible design. NA cx5 pre 2019 is the top of my list now.

Not saying these aren't points to consider, but to be fair, all of that is hypothetical. I've never seen anyone here or on Reddit with a SkyActiv turbo problem.

 

[jfrogger]

Not saying these aren't points to consider, but to be fair, all of that is hypothetical. I've never seen anyone here or on Reddit with a SkyActiv

Not saying these aren't points to consider, but to be fair, all of that is hypothetical. I've never seen anyone here or on Reddit with a SkyActiv turbo problem.

I just watched a video showing this very issue. The entire engine and tranny had to be dropped to get to the turbo. That isn't a good design imo. I know they had to cram it all into a small space, but at least make it so you can work on it without pulling the whole motor. I like to do my own work on my cars, but I dont have a lift, so I'm not willing to take the risk with a cx9. People with deep pockets that can pay 4k to do what should be a diy job are whom these turbo motors are made for.

 

[N7turbo]

I just watched a video showing this very issue. The entire engine and tranny had to be dropped to get to the turbo. That isn't a good design imo. I know they had to cram it all into a small space, but at least make it so you can work on it without pulling the whole motor. I like to do my own work on my cars, but I dont have a lift, so I'm not willing to take the risk with a cx9. People with deep pockets that can pay 4k to do what should be a diy job are whom these turbo motors are made for.

I would like to see that video. I've replaced the turbo inlet pipe so I'm aware of the packaging but I'd be surprised if you can't remove some things to get to it.

 

[sm1ke]

I'm gonna guess that this is the video @jfrogger is referring to. It seems to be the only video available that details an OEM turbo replacement.